While the study numbers were small, the research was robust because the use of marijuana was verified via urine tests, said Brianna Moore, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora. She was not involved in the study. “Urinary THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) testing is more objective than self-report, since pregnant people may not want to state that they are using cannabis,” she said.
CNN's Kim Brunhuber speaks with professor and retired U.S. Air Force colonel, Mona Pearl Treyball [CU College of Nursing faculty], about veterans' mental health care in the wake of the mass shooting in Atlanta, where authorities say the shooter was a veteran.
“If we looked at all those other leading causes of death – whether you’re talking about motor vehicle accidents or childhood cancer – and we said, ‘Gosh, if we had some simple, safe thing we could do to get rid of one of those, wouldn’t we just jump at it?” And we have that with Covid with vaccines,” said O’Leary, who is also a professor of pediatric infectious disease at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado.
“These chemicals are ubiquitous in the American environment. More than 2,800 communities in the US, including all 50 states and two territories, have documented PFAS contamination,” Dr. Ned Calonge, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health and chair of the Academies committee that wrote the report, told CNN previously.
These findings “increase our knowledge of MIS-C and COVID-19 disparities and outcomes, shedding light on the risks and impacts of increasing organ system dysfunction,” according to a commentary on the study from pediatricians and researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
“The most impressive finding is that this risk (for chronic diseases and aging) is apparent even in individuals who have serum sodium levels that are on the upper end of the ‘normal range,’” said Dr. Richard Johnson, professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, via email. He was not involved in the study.
“The concern now is that we’ve had this global dip in vaccination coverage as a result of the pandemic, probably not actually from vaccine hesitancy or refusal but just there were a lot of kids that missed their checkups during the pandemic, and we really haven’t completely caught those kids up,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases and professor of pediatric infectious disease at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Children’s Hospital Colorado has seen an early uptick in RSV hospitalizations and is starting to see the first few flu cases of the season, said Dr. Kevin Messacar, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “We have been seeing increased patient volumes since the late summer, which started with rhinoviruses and enteroviruses as children returned to school, and now is being driven by RSV and parainfluenza,” he said. “With influenza season rapidly approaching with what appears to be an early start, we are concerned about the persistently increased volumes of sick children requiring hospitalization.”
